Chicken
by Cluckster
Summary: Minako is getting married. Usagi fears shes making the worst mistake of her life. Oneshot. Complete.


This was a mistake. It was a mistake and Usagi didn't know how much more of it she could take.

When Minako told her she and Kael had broken up, Usagi didn't worry because they broke up all the time. It never lasted long.

When Kael moved out and Minako began dating, Usagi still thought they'd figure it all out eventually. But then Minako told them about Kurt.

Kurt was a handsome hotshot lawyer who Minako had started dating shortly after Kael and she had broken up. It wasn't long before Minako confined in Usagi that things were getting pretty serious between Kurt and herself. Usagi told her Mamo-chan to talk to his head general, let him know that things were getting serious. Unfortunately, all Kael would reply was that he was happy for his ex-lover.

Usagi wanted to knock both of them upside the head.

She knew that the two had their share of problems, but who didn't? They were supposed to be soulmates. But, now? Now it was all wrong.

Kurt proposed with the largest diamond any of them had ever seen during Makoto's Christmas Party. Minako had nodded her acceptance, too choked up to actually say yes. Usagi tried to be happy for her best friend, but she couldn't help the worried glance at Kael.

To her shock, Kael was congratulating Minako. The two had embraced briefly as if old friends and nothing more. It was clear they had both moved on, but it killed Usagi to see two people, who were definitely not perfect for each other, but who had shared such a passionate history, just let it all slip away.

Mamoru told her that sometimes things just didn't work out, that she should just be happy for all involved that they'd found their happiness.

But what happiness had Kael found? The stoic general told her he was fine by himself, that he didn't need a woman to be happy. Usagi stopped trying to butt in after that.

Planning for the wedding only took 6 months and now Minako was walking down the aisle, looking ethereal in white silk. Her teary eyes were focused on Kurt, her entire body radiating happiness.

Usagi, as the maid of honor, helped Minako adjust her veil as she reached the pulpit and she couldn't help but whisper "Mina, are you sure?" Minako simply winked at her and Usagi had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. Honestly, you'd think she was the one getting married for all her jitters.

Usagi tried not to look at Kael, she knew that if he saw the brokenhearted expression on his face, she'd surely start to cry. She tried not to, but failed. Kael was sitting on the first seat of the third pew right behind Haruka and Michiru, looking completely at ease. Usagi blanched. She knew the man hardly showed emotion, but you'd think he'd look a little sad, the tiniest bit uncomfortable to be at his exes' wedding at least? But he looked perfectly content.

How did two people so deeply in love get to be this? She couldn't imagine marrying anyone else and having her Mamo-chan just be okay with it.

She looked to Mamoru for help, but all he could do was shrug. Usagi rolled her eyes at him and looked to her friends, her fellow senshi standing next to her on the altar, almost desperately. They were all focusing happily at the couple exchanging their vows.

The groom pronouncing his words loudly and proudly, while the bride repeated them softer and more sentimental. Usagi kept switching which foot she balanced on, completely incapable of standing still. Rei hissed at her to stop fidgeting.

"We can't let her go through with this!" Usagi whispered back.

Ami starting to look annoyed muttered a sing-song "shut uuup" from the side of her mouth at the two bridesmaids.

Usagi once again threw them all a desperate look and Makoto took her hand and whispered, "she's a big girl."

Usagi took a deep breath, held Makoto's hand tight and witnessed the couple say their I do's.

"Does anyone have any reason for why these two should not be wed? Speak now or forever your hold your peace" the priest spoke loudly into the church.

The objection! How could she forget about the objections?! Usagi's head snapped to Kael, praying he would say something, cough, hell, could the man blink?! He was taking too long, he was losing his chance! How could he let her marry someone else? How could love just die? Usagi felt like crying.

May be she had lived in her world of happy endings for too long. She had to remember that Venus and Kunzite had tried to live out their happily ever after three times now, and it just wasn't working out. Did they owe it to themselves to find happiness elsewhere? To let the other be happy without them? Usagi figured the two of them were just more mature and better people overall than she could ever hope to be.

Usagi looked at Mamoru, who was already looking at her with loving and sympathetic look on his face as if to say 'I still love you and I always will'. She replied with a soft smile of her own relaying that she would too and that that was enough.

Usagi turned back to the almost married couple in time for the priest to utter the final words.

"And by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you-"

"REALLY?! YOU WOULD ACTUALLY LET ME GET MARRIED?!"

The entire church was taken back by the bride's sudden outburst.

She turned towards the crowd, hands on her hip, cheeks flushed with anger. "What is wrong with you? Are you so dead inside that none of this affects you in the least?!" she screamed at the crowd while waving her bouquet wildly around.

"Minako, what are you talking about?" Usagi tried approaching her friend, utterly confused.

"Him! I'm talking about the robot who would let the love of his life slip through his fingers before his very eyes!"

"Minako! What about Kurt?!" Makoto tried talking sense into the angry woman.

"Oh, don't worry about me. She's paying me pretty well."

The attendants began murmuring in confusion, while the bridal party was catching on to what was actually going on all too quickly.

Ami was burying her face into her hands, while a few of them just stared with gaping mouths at what was unfolding before them.

"Minako" Rei spoke through gritted teeth, "tell me this is not a game of chicken between you and Kael."

"This isn't a game! Is that what you think?" she replied first to Rei and then turned back towards the third pew. "That this is all a game? Look at my dress. Look at everyone around you. My parents came! That's a real priest!"

"Wait, what?" the groom uttered with some alarm.

"Do you have any idea everything it took to plan this? Not only did I have to plan the wedding of the century, but I also had to make sure you'd hear every blessed detail of my happiness. Do you have any idea how many news crews I had to bribe to ensure they played my engagement announcement on a loop to make sure you knew this wasn't fake? I had to send Artemis away because he threatened to ruin everything! I had to shove Luna in with him because she'd get suspicious!"

Rei threw her bouquet down, picked up her dress and made her way out of the church and slamming the door in the process. Ami's face was blushing so red it could be seen from the edges of her hands hiding it. Makoto simply could not take it anymore and sat down in astonishment on the steps of the altar. Mamoru checked his own temperature to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Nathan was looking at Kurt as if trying to find the answer to everything in him. Jason was staring at Minako completely impressed while Zack looked at her as if he'd never truly seen her before in his life.

Usagi could hardly believe her ears, and was also a little ashamed that she hadn't noticed her cat was gone… How long ago did Minako send them away? She looked at Kael sitting behind a barely keeping it together Haruka and Michiru, and noticed that he was still completely at ease.

Nothing of what had just been said had fazed him at all. And Minako was starting to realize that fact.

"But you don't care. You never did. You'd let me get married because you don't love me." She looked down and took a deep breath. "…I'm such a fool…"

Minako picked her up dress and began her exit back down the aisle. As she reached the second pew, though she tried hiding her face, a tear escaped down her cheek. She passed the man she had orchestrated everything for, but didn't get far before he stood and reached for her hand.

Minako turned to him, but refused to look at him. "Please, just let me go. You made your feelings clear."

Kael didn't let go of her hand, but reached into the inside of his jacket with his free hand.

He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.

"What is this?"

"I didn't know how far you would take this Mina. But I knew how far I was willing to let you go. So yes, I let you get married. Yes, I would have let you party all night and rubbed my face in your marital bliss. Yes, I would have let you board that plane and leave for Aruba. But that's as far as you would have gotten."

"These are plane tickets?"

"I was prepared for you defile the sanctity of marriage, but I was not about to let you consummate the damn thing."

Minako's eyes still shined with tears, but the smile on her face had never before been more beautiful.

"You still love me?"

"Darling, I've died twice and I haven't stopped loving you. I could die a thousand times, and I would never stop loving you."

Tears streaked Minako's face and Kael brushed them away with his thumb.

"You wanna go on a honeymoon?" he spoke huskily to her.

"Only with you" she whispered back.

Kael picked up the bride, walked down the aisle, kicked the doors open and escaped into the sunset with his prize.

Meanwhile inside the church a hundred people sat confused as to what had just happened.

Usagi felt all the uneasiness that had weighed on her heart the last 8 months float away and she turned to her husband and with a satisfied smile said "I told you they'd end up together in the end."

"Usako, they left and didn't tell us where Luna and Artemis are."

The maid of honor gasped and ran out of the church, screaming after the limo driving towards the airport.

Hi everyone.

I know I still have to update The Space Between. I have excellent reasons for why I haven't, jt those will be explained whenever I finally update.

That being said, I couldn't just not post this.

I thought of it today, wrote it all within an hour and am posting it before I can change my mind. It's rough and I should probably spend more time on it, but I have too many other more serious fics in the works.

Hope it made you giggle.

Til next time.

Xoxo


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